The invention relates to an isocentric examination stand for radiological examinations of a patient comprising
a cradle in the form of an arc of a circle circularly displaceable in a plane containing it about an axis of rotation passing through the centre of the arc of a circle,
a cradle support mounted for rotation on an axis parallel to the plane of the cradle and provided with means for circularly displacing the cradle,
an X-ray radiation source and a radiation detector both supported by the cradle, disposed on either side of the support, while the axis of source and detector parallel to the plane of the cradle intersects the axis of rotation of the cradle support and a so-called isocentre point
Such an examination stand is known from French Pat. No. 2,544,191. French Pat. No. 2,544,191 describes an isocentric examination stand providing for an open cradle displacement conditions which permit lateral incidences and the reconstitution of the initial working axis by replacing on this axis the radiation source and the detector one by the other. These possibilities are obtained by a cradle supported by a movable support in the form of an arc of a circle in turn supported by a socle and circularly displaceable with respect to this socle.
The isocentric examination stands are generally formed from cast or soldered pieces, which are then machined. These pieces have considerable masses of aluminium alloy or of steel in order to ensure that the stands have a considerable mechanical rigidity, whose cradle supports in the out-of-balance-state the weight of the radiation source and of the radiation detector.
The supply cable of the source and of the detector is either suspended from a bracket or incorporated in the cradle and then suspended. Such stands have several disadvantages:
the manufacture of these stands necessarily involves a substantial investment in tools in the case of a moulding or soldering process and an expensive machining of the functional mechanical parts,
the supply cable incorporated in the cradle involves a decrease of the mechanical rigidity of the cradle,
the cable suspended from a bracket is very voluminous.